Refrigerating apparatus



May 7, 1935. A P 2,000,787

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 20, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. u mee/lw 4. P/l/L/PP ATTORNEY.

May 7, 1935. L, A. PHILIPP REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 20, 1952 INVENTOR. Lewes/v05 0. P/m/PP ATTORNEY.

Patented May 7, 1935 r f flmm e m Lama Assam, minimalism-am to .Kelv lnator Corporation, De

notation of Michigan trolt, Mioh a cor- I Application June 20, m2, No. cram I momma. (o1. 02-110) 'lhiainvention relates to refrigerating appara- 4 7w: and, more particularly. torefrigerating apparatus'of the household t refrigerating apparatus and' particularly in such" apparatus mployedf for lious'eholduse, 1 it h 1 has been found"desirable to locate the entiref refrigerating systemewithln the cabinet; It has 1 also been foundfdesirable to provide" a freezing compartment within" thecabinetseparate from 10 the food 'compartmentand in'which the'refrigerv evaporator for-freezing substances such as *wate'r may- 'be disposed-and arranged to also maintain a. constant and lower temperature in thefreezing compartment than-in the food com- 18 partment. Heretofore it has been proposed to f obt'ainthe abovedesirable condition by utilizing *Ftwo evaporators,-one being employed for freezing "purposes within a separate freezing compartment temperature 'therewithin; However, such arrangements have'been' objectionable-Yin the past [in that the extra evaporator and the 1 a'rrangement of the units-in the cabinet occupied con- 25 siderable space whichmight otherwise become used for storage space Then again, the refrig- 1 eratin'g units were usuallyso arranged that the entiresystem could not be removed' as a unit" for the purpose'of repair-or replacement without .80 the necessity "of disconnecting the refrigerant w'conduits, with the-consequent chances-of gas and i frig'erating systemlwithin the cabinet; and

*-*-Fig. is aiside viewin elevation of the'refrigoil escaping'or dirt -and rr'1oisture entering the V system. This required therservices ofwskilled -85 the service station"or factory. in-orderto travel to and 'from installations aridfithereby "consumed much time inv iusttraveling as truckdriversback I vand forth betweenfmjobs. Consequentlmsuch workmen were unable to devote their'entire time 40 to skilled work and wererexpensive tomaintaint 1 Accordingly, none of 'the objects of the invenwall35, bottom wall and atop wall 31; The. cabinetalso includes aflxed and substantially horizontally disposed insulated wall 40. mm wall it extends across the width of the cabinet and 45 r from the rear wall-to a pointadjacent the front wall, separating the foodcompartmentcfrom the freezing and machine compartments." An inner metallic lining member '42: forms theinner walls of therfood' compartment and: is preferably pro- 50 vided;with a coating of vitreou'senamel, such as vporcelain; toprovidea neat' -a'ppearing compartzment andone-which maybe'reasilyecleaned. The

front wall A 35.: is-iprovided withr an :opening ll 1 tion is to provide a new. and improved-arrangemerit of a'zmfrigerating system including two 1;; evaporators-withina cabinet. :1

45 'An'other.-.object"of the invention-As toprovide 43a refrigerator cabinethavingyea foodcompart- L ment, and a second compartment and a-machine vcompartmentinsulated from one another, and 1 to; 'providef a refrigerating system" including a- 50 relatively small heat capacity cooling element" or 1 .wqevaporator for refrigerating; Jt'hBI-L food .compartz:ment; a relatively large heatwcapacity. cooling element or i evapo'ratorgv for :fr'eezing; :icevcubes ands 1: lthealikeiin the freezing-compartmentgandto operfifiiiiatively connect; said evaporators to arefrigerant and 1 the other being disposed within the food 20 jcompartmentto maintain a constant andhigher 'takenin the direction of the 'arrows 24-2 o1 Fig. 301s a fragmentary view in cross section "-taken in the direction of the arrows "of Fig;

a g fi f d top 'planviewin cross section taken in the direction of the arrows k-l, 30

condensing element disposed machinery compartment. p i i, Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet having a food compartmentga freezing compartment, anda machine compartment sep- 5 arated from one another, and to "arrange J a rejfrigerarit condensing element in the machinery compartment, a cooling element in the freezing compartment and a second gcooling element in the food compartment operably connected and arranged to' be removable as a unitary structure from the cabinet whereby the necessity of disconnecting the elements upon so removing it is eliminated. 0

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from thefollowingdefription, reference being had to the accom- 'panying drawings;

-Inthe'drawings: 5 Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigeratingappara- 'tus embodying features "of my invention, shown partly'in'elevation and partly broken away;"=

Fig." 2 "is" a fragmentary view in cross section showing the" re" I partment 26. The cabinet is formed by insulated walls including side walls 32, rear-wall 34, front through which accessbto'. thefood compartment and freezing compartment may be had. The opening 44 is closed by a door 45.

A unitary structure is arranged to be insertable in and removable from the cabinet through the door opening 44. This structure comprises in general a relatively large heat capacity cooling element, 60, a condensing element 63, an upright partition or closure member 64 {between said elements and a relatively small heat capacity cooling element 66. When the removable structure is in operative position in the cabinet, the upright partition 64 separates the compartment 24 from the machinery compartment 28, Thus, the condensing element is located at the rear of the cabinet and the cooling element 60 is in horizontal alignment therewith at the front of the cabinet. The large heat capacity cooling element 60 and the small heat capacitycooling element 66 are disposed on opposite sides of the horizontally disposed wall 32, the cooling element 68 being disposed within the food compartment 22 adjacent the underside of the wall 40 and in the-same vertical plane with the cooling element 60.

The cooling element or evaporator 60 is suitably mounted on the upright wall 64 and in this instance is L-shaped, having an upright extending portion 65 and a horizontal extending portion 61 providing a freezing zone within the compartment 24. This L-shaped evaporator extends across the width of the cabinet, the upright portion 65 being disposed between the front and rear walls of the cabinet and extending upwardly fromthe horizontal wall 40 to a point adjacent the. top wall 31. The horizontal portion 61 extends from the upright portion 65 to a point adjacent the door 45 and rests on the wall 40. Thus, this L-shaped evaporator forms the bottom and rear walls of the freezing compartment 24.

Side panels 10 and a top panel II are provided to cooperate with the L-shaped evaporator to form a box like freezing compartment, open at the front. These top and side panels are preferably formed of sheet metal and secured to the cooling element so as to be removable therewith through the door opening 44. It will be seen that these panels also serve as the inner lining for the freezing compartment. Preferably the inner walls of the freezing compartment are provided with a coating of vitreous enamel, such as porcelain, to correspond to the surface finish of the food compartment. The front edges of the side panels I and the top panel II may extend into the door opening 40 and be covered by suitable finishing strips I4 which extend around the opening 44 to give a neat and finished appearance to the cabinet.

In order to refrigerate the food compartment and maintain a constant temperature therewithin, the cooling element 68 is provided and comprises in general a plate type evaporator including two finned plates 15 and 16 connected to and suspended from the evaporator 80. As, shown, the wall 40 is of less thickness beneath the cooling element 60 than at the rear of the cabinet and the plates 15 and I6 are angularly disposed beneath this portion of the wall and adjacent thereto. The plates I and I6 may be connected to the evaporator 60 by tube members 80 and 8I which extend through notches 86 provided in the front edge of the wall 40. A bracket 88 is provided at the front to rigidly connect the plates.

Baille plates 90 and SI are arranged to direct the circulation of air over the heat absorbing surfaces of the finned plates I5 and I6. These baflie plates are provided with vertical extending portions 82 which may be secured to the cooling element 60 and horizontal rearwardly extending portions 94 which may be detachably supported at the rear by clips 95 secured to the wall 82. As shown in Fig. 1, these baflle plates also serve to conceal the plates I5 and I6 and the brackets 88 connecting these plates to the cooling element 80. These baffle plates are also adapted to catch the drip from the cooling element 66. The drip is then conducted to a drip tray 96 supported by an openwork removable shelf 81.

' The condensing element comprises in general a motor-compressor unit which may be of any suitable type, preferably enclosed within 9. hermetically sealed casing 88 and a condenser 98. As shown best in Fig. 4, it is not necessary that the rear, top and side walls of the machinery compartment 28 be insulated. In the rear wall of the machinery compartment is provided two openings I02 and I03 through which'air may enter to circulate within the machinery compartment. The condensing element is suitably mounted on the removable partition by an L- shaped bracket I04. The condenser 89 is preferably air cooled and for this purpose I have provided a motor driven-fan I06 so arranged as to draw in air through the opening I02 and circulate it over the condenser mechanism and out the opening I03 to dispel heat generated withinthe machinery compartment.

In the operation of the refrigerating system, gaseous refrigerant is withdrawn from the cooling element or evaporator 60 through conduit I08'by the compressor which compresses it and delivers the compressed gas to the condenser wherein it is liquefied. The liquid refrigerant then passes to a high side float mechanism IIII and from here is delivered through conduit III to the cooling element 06. The liquid refrigerant passes through passageways provided in the plates 15 and 16 to refrigerate thefood compartment and then passes through conduit Hi to the evaporator 50. It will be seen that the refrigerant conduits III and H3 may extend through the hollow tubes 80 and 8|.

Preferably, the system is intermittently operated for maintaining substantially constant temperatures in compartments 22 and 24. Any suitable means, such as an automatic switch (notshown) responsive to changes in pressures in conduit I08, or a thermostat (not shown) responsive to changes in temperatures in compartment 22 or compartment 24, may be used for connecting or disconnecting the electric motor to the source of supply.

To remove the refrigerating system from the cabinet, it is only necessary to remove the finishing strips I4 after which the entire system may be slid forwardly through the door opening 44.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that I have provided a new and improved refrigerating apparatus in which the cabinet is adapted to receive]: unitary refrigerating system including two evaporators in a manner such that the food compartment and the freezing compartment may be entirely separate. Another important advantage of this apparatus is that. the entire refrigerating system may be readily inserted in or removed from the cabinet without the necessity of disconnecting the refrigerant conduits. In addition, it will be noted that I have provided a relatively small heat capacity 0001- 9,000,787 ing element for refrigerating the food compartment and a relatively large heat capacity cooling element for freezing ice cubes and the like and that these elements are insulated from one another by wall 40.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated, and that form described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a food compartment and a freezing compartment divided by an insulated wall, a cooling element disposed within the freezing compartment immediately above said fixed wall, a second cooling element horizontally -disposed within the food compartment immediately below said fixed wall and in close proximity to the top wall thereof, one of the walls of said cabinet being provided with an opening leading to said compartments and a door for closing said opening, said evaporating elements being operatively connected together and removable bodily from the cabinet through said opening without breaking the connection therebetween.

2."Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a food compartment, a second compartment separated from the food compartment by an insulated wall, and a machine compartment and having an opening in a wall thereof, movable closure means for the opening, said cabinet also including insulated movable means between said second compartment and said machinery compartment, a refrigerant cooling element associated with said movable means within said second compartment,

a refrigerant condensing element associated withsaid movable means within said machine compartment, and a cooling element disposed in said food compartment, said elements and said movable means being bodily removable as a unitary structure through said opening.

3. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a food compartment. a second compartment separated from the food compartment by an insulated wall and a machine compartment and having an opening in a wall of the cabinet, movable closure means-for the opening, said cabinet also including a removable upright partition separating said second compartment from said machinery compartment, a refrigerant condensing element carried by said partition within the machinery compartment, a refrigerant cooling element secured to said partition within said second named compartment, and a second cooling element suspended from said first named cooling element within said food compartment, said elements and said upright partition being bodily removable as a unitary structure through said opening.

4. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having an opening in a wall thereof and having a machine compartment, a second compartment and a food compartment separated therefrom by a wall, movable closure means for the opening, removable insulating wall means separating said second compartment from said machinery compartment, a refrigerant condensing element disposed within the machinery compartment, and a pair of refrigerant cooling elements telescoping said wall, one of said cooling elements being disposed within said second named compartment and the other within the food compartment, said elements and said insulating means being bodily removable as a unitary structure through said opening.

5. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a plurality of compartmnits separated by insulated walls and being provided with an opening in a wall thereof, a refrigera'nt condensing element disposed in one of said compartments, a refrigerant cooling element disposed in a second of said compartments, a plate type cooling element carried by said first named cooling element and disposed in a third of said compartments, and means operably connecting said elements, said elements and said means being removable as a unitary structure from the cabinet through said opening.

6. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in com.- bination a cabinet having a wall dividing the cabinet into two. compartments, and having an opening in a wall of the cabinet leading to said compartments, a unitary refrigerating system adapted to be inserted in or removed from said compartments through said opening comprising a refrigerant condensing element and a pair of plate type refrigerant cooling elements adapted to telescope said wall.

7. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a horizontally disposed wall dividing the cabinet into a food compartment thereabove and having an opening in the front wall leading to said compartments, a unitary structure adapted to be inserted in or removed from said. compartments through said opening including a refrigerant condensing element and a pair of refrigerant cooling elements adapted to telescope said horizontally disposed wall, one of said cooling elements being disposed within said second compartment and the other cooling element being disposed within the food compartment.

8. Refrigerating apparatus comprising in combination a cabinet having a wall dividing said cabinet into a food compartment and a second compartment and having an opening in a wall of said cabinet leading to said compartments, movable closure means for said opening, removable insulating means telescoping within said second compartment dividing said compartment into a machinery compartment and a freezing compartment, a condensing element disposed in said machincry compartment, a cooling element disposed in said freezing compartment, and a second cooling element disposed in the food compartment, said second cooling element comprising a plurality of operably connected plate members, said cooling elements, condensing element and insulating means being removable as a unitary structure through said opening.

9. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet having a food compartment and a second compartment separated ,by a wall and having an opening in a wall thereof leading to said compartments, a refrigerant evaporator disposed on one side of said well in the food compartment, a refrigerant evaporator disposed on the opposite side of said wall in said second compartment, and refrigerant conduits interconnecting said evaporators, said evaporators being bodily removable from said cabinet through said opening without disconnecting said conduits from said evaporators.

10. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet having a food compartment and a second compartment separated by an insulating wall and having an opening in a wall thereof leading to said compartments, a refrigerant evaporator disposed on one side of said wall in the food compartment, arefrigerant evaporator disposed on the opposite side of said wall in said second compartment. and a refrigerant conduit extending through a notch in said insulated wall interconnecting said evaporators, said evaporators being bodily removable from said cabinet through said opening without disconnecting said conduit from said evaporators.

11. Refrigerating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet having a wall dividing the cabinet into two compartments and having an opening in a wall of the cabinet leading to said compartments, a unitary refrigerating system adapted to be inserted in or removed from said cabinet through said opening comprising a refrigerant condensing element and two refrigerant cooling elements, saidcooling elements being adapted to be received on opposite sides of said wall, one in each compartment.

12. A refrigerator comprising in combination, an insulated cabinet having a plurality of compartments separated from one another to preventthe free flow of air therebetween, said cabinet having an opening, a single door for closing said opening, a unitary refrigerating apparatus including two evaporators, one for each compartment, said unitary apparatus also including a condensing element connected with the evaporators, said apparatus being removable and insertible as a unit through said opening.

LAWRENCE A. PHILIPP.

CERTIFICATE. OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,000,?87. May- 7, I935.

LAWRENCE A. PHILIPP.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the .above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3, second column, line 31, claim 7, alter the syllable "partment"insert the words and a second compartment; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this l8th day of June, A. D. 1935.

(Seal) Acting comm tl5Watem 

